Fremd stopped against Highland ParkQuirk, Bramson lead Giants to win in season-opener

By Ken Keenan

PALATINE -- Highland Park didn't necessarily dominate host Fremd in the season-opener for both teams Monday night, but the Giants had just enough of an edge in play to pull out a 2-0 win in the 7th annual Central Suburban League/Mid-Suburban League Challenge.

The event was not kind to the host Mid-Suburban League schools, who lost six of seven matches Monday. The league will need to sweep all five games Tuesday to even the competition.

Highland Park did its part for the Central Suburban League.

Clinging to a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes, the Giants created breathing room with a tally in the 53rd minute that completed the scoring. That was more than enough for their nimble senior goalkeeper Alex Bramson, who showed a knack for timely charges out of the box that spoiled Vikings' rushes and earned the shutout in his first career varsity start.

"I thought we came out and had opportunities ... a couple of mistakes and that cost us," said Fremd senior defender Bobby Burk. "But I don't know that (the Giants) outplayed us."

Fremd was the aggressor in the early going, testing Bramson on a hooking corner-kick by senior defender Shintaro Hidaka in the third minute, and then forcing the Highland Park keeper to nab a deflection off of a throw-in by freshman forward Joe Beaupre 30 seconds later. Hidaka placed another corner in the box with 26:25 left in the first half, but junior midfielder Dalton Rogers missed wide left after securing the ball in traffic.

In the 18th minute, Bramson collided with Fremd junior mid Max Clark to thwart a possible chance, and Clark then missed high on a 30-yard try during the same sequence. Bramson also snagged a long header by senior forward Michael Labarge with 20:45 to go before the break, and then strayed far from his net to snuff a loose ball with Labarge in hot pursuit about a minute later.

"I like to play what I call sweeper-keeper," Bramson said.

Highland Park broke the stalemate with 14:11 left in the first half. A solid, sliding tackle by Hidaka led to a corner for speedy Giants senior forward Rodrigo Pozo, who found senior midfielder Justin Nedoss for a header that floated above Vikings senior keeper Josh Kasser and into the net.

With Fremd looking to even the score prior to the break, Clark was stopped by Bramson from 20 yards in the 37th minute. Soon after, Labarge watched his wide-angle shot from in close trickle through the crease and roll out of harm's way.

"The chances were there -- we just didn't put 'em away," said Fremd head coach Steve Keller.

Entering the second half with the lead, Highland Park had a little extra bounce in its step during the final 40 minutes -- especially senior forward Tommy Quirk, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.

"(Quirk) shows a lot of maturity," said Giants head coach Blake Novotny. "He's a good scorer for us, but he also distributes well. He attacks, marks well -- a little bit of everything."

Quirk was all over the field, attacking in tandem with Pozo to create chances and zooming to loose balls to frustrate the Vikings in the midfield. After taking a pass from Pozo early in the 41st minute, Quirk was stopped by Kasser from a wide angle. Seven minutes later, Quirk sent a 25-yard blast wide left.

Pozo also missed wide left in the 48th minute, and Kasser nabbed a 40-yard free-kick by Highland Park senior defender Ambrosio Toledo with 30:40 to go. The relentless Quirk then sent a beautiful cross from the left side to wide open sophomore middie Dario Castillo, who tapped it into the net for a 2-0 lead.

"We kicked it into a second gear in the second half," Quirk said. "We talked at halftime about holding the lead and keeping a clean sheet. And we did both. We wore (Fremd) out. They got tired, and we countered well."

Added Bramson: "We had the lead, so we were confident to push the tempo up."

Toledo, a stalwart on the backline throughout the match, said, "We had more room in the second half. We were nervous at first, but then we got more comfortable."

Shortly after Fremd's Clark was stopped on a 25-yard try in the 63rd minute, the Giants nearly made it 3-0 when Quirk rifled a long shot off the crossbar, followed by an acrobatic Kasser save on the rebound try by junior mid Justin Illes.

Kasser also stopped a 50-yard bomb unleashed by Toledo with 14:05 to go, and then snuffed a wide-angle strike by sophomore forward Alex Forman less than two minutes later. With 10:05 remaining, Kasser made a nice save on a sneaky shot by Castillo.

Quirk tested the Fremd keeper one more time, sending a hard, low corner-kick that Kasser slapped away with 5:05 to go. That chance came just 30 seconds after Pozo fired a 30-yard rocket that narrowly missed wide left.

"Both keepers played well," Novotny said. "But (Kasser) made it a different game in the second half."

Kasser said, "A corner cost us a goal, and the second one could have been stopped. But I thought our defense played pretty well."

The Vikings' final opportunity -- on a 40-yard free-kick by junior defender Ben Cuthbert headed just wide by senior forward James Lefevre -- came in the 78th minute.

"Overall, I was pleased with our play," Keller said. "(The Giants) were a little more composed on the ball than we were. Some of our younger guys, their nerves showed out there. We need them them to play prominent roles this year and their game will slowly elevate from here. We saw some things we need to work on to see improvement. But I'm not discouraged at all."

Added Burk: "We want to get back to practice, and then get back out there and compete again."